slowworm

[sloh-wurm]

noun

1. blindworm.

slowworm

/ ˈsləʊˌwɜːm /

noun

1. Also called: blindworm. a Eurasian legless lizard, Anguis fragilis, with a brownish-grey snakelike body: family Anguidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of slowworm¹

before 900; slow + worm; replacing Middle English slowerm, slowurme, Old English slāwerm, slāwyrm, equivalent to slā- (compare dialectal Swedish slo, Norwegian slō slowworm) + wyrm worm

Example Sentences

No will-o'-the-wisp mislight thee, No snake or slowworm bite thee, But on, on thy way, Not making a stay, Since ghost there's none to affright thee.

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A snake or an adder would have begun to move away the moment any one stopped to look at it; but the slowworm takes no notice, and hence it is often said to be blind.

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From all parts of Europe long and sinister black files are crawling hitherward in serpentine lines, like slowworms through grass.

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The boys at the village school say that slowworms are poisonous; is not that silly?

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A silvery creature like a slowworm came crawling out from among them, slowly crossed the clay floor, and crept into the fire.

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